What have you done to your Miata today?

[princess peach]

Picked her up yesterday in Fort Collins, CO and brought her home (Parma, OH). Needs some maintenance and a bit of work, but I couldn't pass up the deal!

 

[Antoine]

Congrats! I dig that color...What plans do you have in store for this Miata?

 

[princess peach]

Thanks!

Maintenance for now. Wanna replace most of what is worn out, get rid of squeaks and rattles, install a few parts I salvaged from the MSM and run her at local autox. Roll bar will wait till next year, unless I win the lottery or something.

 

[Antoine]

Cool, looking forward to see how she comes along!

 

[JamesCH]

Very cool!

500 miles into a 600 mile clutch break-in. So many miles...

 

[Reitrof]

Congrats Pablo.

 

[CTt3P5]

Ordered a Vista Pro radiator from Rock Auto over lunch. In the meantime I've got a gallon of coolant in the trunk.

 

[stevenmichael]

Hi all I did something today that only took a few seconds that is going to make my life a lot easier when I pull into the gas station.I have a 2003 and my gas lid woild not pop up . I had to carry a small sharp object to pry it open for some reason so I did this today and it works great . I twisted the end if a small spring onto the plastic piece that holds the gas cap string like plastic thing that makes it so you don't lose you gas cap. here are some pics

<iframe src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/95866488@N02/14583162563/in/set-72157645075398710/player/" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/95866488@N02/14583157573/in/set-72157645075398710/player/" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[stevenmichael]

Does anyone know why my lid doesn't pop up. I looked for a spring of some kind but I didn't see one . What I have now works great but I was just wondering how it was supposed to work.

 

[WillD]

Mazda announced that the new Miata will be unveiled on September 3rd!
https://twitter.com/MazdaUSA/status/484548353192374272/photo/1

 

[JamesCH]

Does anyone know why my lid doesn't pop up. I looked for a spring of some kind but I didn't see one . What I have now works great but I was just wondering how it was supposed to work.

There should be a spring-loaded plunger that pops the lid open via a ramp (if memory serves). Looks like you have an aftermarket fuel filler door, so all bets are off as to proper installation and inclusion of all needed parts. More pictures would help.

 

[princess peach]

Does anybody have a good method to align the doors after you've changed the bolts on the hinges? When I did the frog arms on the MSM, it was a b**** to re-align them and I still didn't get it right. I need to install them on this one, but would rather wait till I have a good method to do that, or maybe I need to pay someone to do it for me after I install the frog arms.

 

[JamesCH]

Does anybody have a good method to align the doors after you've changed the bolts on the hinges? When I did the frog arms on the MSM, it was a b**** to re-align them and I still didn't get it right. I need to install them on this one, but would rather wait till I have a good method to do that, or maybe I need to pay someone to do it for me after I install the frog arms.

When my body guy re-aligned my doors after painting he just lifted up on the door a bit while I loosened and tightened the hinge bolts. Took a little tweaking but turned out nicely.

I bet you could do the same by yourself with a jack. You could use a measuring tape if you want to quantify how much you're moving the door after each adjustment.

 

[aMaff]

I eyeballed mine and just adjusted a little at a time. Shut the door, see where it needs to go, loosen the bolts a little, adjust, etc. Took a half hour per side at most. It would probably go quicker than that if you had someone helping.

 

[JamesCH]

Random thought - try shimming up the door while it's closed. Slip some bits of cardboard or something between the door and the sill to keep it from dropping while you loosen everything up to install the arms.

 

[princess peach]

I'll have someone help me next time

 

[chiefmg]

I had this problem when I installed my Tuckin' 99 fender braces. Even though I only removed one bolt from the door hinge, the weight of the door was apparently enough to shift things. I used the car jack and a piece of wood under the door to keep it in place where I wanted it and then tightened everything up. Worked great.

 

[chiefmg]

Very cool!

500 miles into a 600 mile clutch break-in. So many miles...

I've done that twice in the last year, so I feel your pain. That first run to redline is so much fun...

 

[JamesCH]

Finally done with the 600mi clutch break-in period. Longest 600 miles of my life!

Absolutely love the FM clutch.
Frog-arm braces are awesome. Coupled with my FM frame rails the chassis is considerably stiffer and more responsive to turning inputs.
The new(ish) engine runs great. Limited blow-by, decent fuel economy (est. 27-30mpg), and it starts very easily. No leaks resulting from my first-ever head gasket attempt (with stock head bolts no less!)
My DIY coolant bypass works well, the engine stays nice and cool. However, without the thermostat downstream of the heater core I have to run a gear lower than normal in some situations to get adequate heater core circulation.
Disconnecting the RSB is, as many already know, awesome. It's not nearly so tail-happy. I can mat 1st gear in sharp turns without immediately sliding out (i.e. turning from a stop sign onto a 55mph highway). Very happy about that.

Now she gets to sit in my garage for the next 2+ weeks while I get married and go on my honeymoon. Hopefully I'll get a chance to autox later in the season...

 

[princess peach]

Cool, the NA feels pretty good with the butterfly brace alone, wasn't able to install the frog arms but looking forward to that. I replaced the fuel filter and will do brakes\clutch hydraulics today. Also replaced the head unit with a double din, very happy about that.